, 1887-03-24
FAN AND ANT.

alive, course We don'tl It's nigh twenty
year sence he brought her hum. Lord,
how old Ant Lott stormed. l see that old
woman now, runnin' round to the neigh
bors, bemoanin'.
She came through the parstur where l
vas haydn with Cy Mullett, on her way
over to Mis- Potter's. I hollered out
''-Ant!'-Lord knows why we all called
her ant; she wa everything but an ant to
folks-"I hear Charley's gone n got
married"
Yes"
AN to Fan Low"
Low enough!' SEE the old woman.
oval, Charley amt 80 very high" 1
answered rather spitefully, for he was
the LATEST critter l ever seed.
Hos my youngest, the last O. my
flock" groaned the old woman; I'D q
worked for him to the eend o. my days;
but now!' She shook her fist, an what
atwecn thct fist n her tears, l couldn't
tell as she was most mad or grieved.
Twas mad, though. But it didn't
last long on Charley; it all got spited OF
poor Fan. Ant was q smart woman, an
jed nothin' better'n to read the papers
n git inter a discussion. Couldn't she
argee, thought The very parson couldn't
prove he'd a soul, or there was eny
heaven or hell, when Ant Lott belt O.
him. Yes, ye say true; he did ree'lize
he was in u kind of hell, then; Lord, yesi
but he wasn't agoin to let on twas 80!
She was sot aginst the gov'ment, n So
ciety, n the church, n dedication, n
fact, bout cv'rything goin. Nothin'
was right, n she could prove it wasn't.
I never knew her to low there was but
one thing right in the hull 'varsal world,
n tibet was God. She hedn't got so low
down as to say enything aginst Him.
But eff she'd ben parfio' herself, she
couldn't have sot down harder on folks
faihns. Yo can imagine inter what kind
o. a neest poor Fan come. Poor Fanl
She'd ben a depo' gal, tendin' tables
there, n her repetition warn't o. the
best.
I alters pited them depo' gals. Ell eny
O. 'em was smilin' n kinder decent to a
Teller. ten to n they was took advan-
tage Of. Plenty O. men mean enough to
try kiss u girl out O. brass, cause she
STAINS in a public plaoe. 1 never
b'lieved no harm O. Fan. / seed her
once slap n teller square in the face fur
an insultin' word. But folks would
have it she warn't all right, fur she's
given ter foolin' an would git pooty
highty-tighty now an then. But lori
some gals haint no more harm n their
hearts tibet way then a frisky young
lamb. It's the same kind o. bubblin'
over n both.
Fan. he'd mighty soft gray eyes, an
when we looked inter EN- an Jaw her
red lips trenholm z II they wanted ter
larf right out, twas as freshing q sight as
ye'd arsk to see. Twas q s'prize to
everybody when she married Charley.
He warn't known to We been waitin' on
her. Course his folks ell thought sheds
drawn the wool over his eyes. Ant was
wust of all. But nobody, not blind,
could help SEEM he's decd In love with
her. + never see SIGH a happy look as
his'n weeks arter the marriage, Ants
railin's to the contra's notwithstanding
She began on tibet, with q never-to-be-let-
Nifty much to Fan, 80 long as Charley
looked happy. So the two was like q
pair of kids a good while arter many o
married couple, with somethin' better
thar a mother in-law's railin's to begin
with, gifts marster tired o. themselves.
But 'twarn't in natur tibet this would
last. Charley was lazy as all time, as 1
said. Ant was right when she said
there'd be two to sport now stead o.
one. Fan warn't to blame; l happened
to know Charley promised all sorts O. fine
things. specially one she was sot on
tibet he'd work hard n not let the old
woman sport EN-. He did work off an
on fur a while; but when ~laziness is
'ngrained in the bone, not eve q wom-
ans love, pooty drillin' as It's, is going
to blarst it out.
Twas n leetle farm where they lived,
and when Fan found Charley slackin' up
she turned to, an planted n hoed.
'Twould n changed the mind of IL man
who didn't b'ieve in the hull possession
of the devil to a seen Ant then an hear
her say, scarves her righti'
By and by, Fan was obleeged to give
up farm-work; an though all work was
wearyin' to her, she did what she could.
Twas huckleberry time, an the gal
p.cked berries to sell to the neighbors as
long as she could get to the parsters. 1
happened tibet summer not to BIO druv with
work, N many a time did I go out an
help that poor gal u-nbeknownst to emmy
body, lettin' her rest what she would
under the shade o. the trees.
1t got round tibet Charley had gone
back on his wife. So long us he was
well an lively he could stan the pressure
OF his mothers tongue; but with her
lookin' feeble an kim o. sorrowful at
him, he begun to feel he'd made a fool
o. hisself marryin'. Just as his mother
had dinged at him from the fust. he
got surly, II left off his soft ways to Fan.
| suppose them soft ways caught her.
Ever think tibet there's no critter to
match n lazy man for soft, coddlin'
waysl Yet he was alters hard on her.
He'd nave fits O. bein' kind and the poor
gals spirits riz, and she'd look heartier
while they larsted. But the way he'd
let her work! How u man with a soul
in his bosom could do that! Mebbe he
lowed his mothers doctrine tibet we
hadn't souls. The baby come a leetle too
soon, as was material, but didn't Ants
tongue wag then faster then ever!
Hadn't she alters said Charley'd ben i'm
posed ony Soon's Fan got well, she
should leave EN-, bag n baggage.
But the leetle thing didn't live more'n
a month. How Fan took onl as eff she'd
clean lost ev'rything. Ant didn't
SCI oople TO say twas u 'spensation to be
CAD OFF folks believed in '~spensations.
Fur her part, she thought the Almighty'd
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